Ben Lang

AI unicorn Gong to add 100 jobs following revenue surge. The Israeli company has hit a $300M run rate and is growing its global presence with new offices, in addition to significantly increasing its local workforce. https://lnkd.in/eJ6GM93M

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Another milestone for Israeli cybersecurity and YL Ventures: Aim Security, led by founders Matan G. and Adir Gruss, has been acquired by Cato Networks! From their $10M seed round in 2023 through their $18M Series A, we had the privilege of working closely with the team as they built one of the fastest growing cybersecurity companies in Israel, and the category leader of AI Security. From day zero, Aim set out with a bold vision: to give enterprises a way to adopt AI securely and responsibly. In two years, Matan, Adir, and their exceptional team turned that vision into a reality, building a company trusted by some of the world’s largest organizations. This achievement demonstrates the power of brilliant founders, strong teams, and conviction from inception. For YL Ventures’ $400M Fund V, this is a significant outcome and another marker of Israel’s unique ability to produce companies that matter on a global stage. https://lnkd.in/erHnKmfN

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Israeli tech is raising and scaling with funding up 54% on larger (but fewer) rounds in H1 2025, making it the strongest half since 2021. Our ecosystem is in growth mode and that means renewed investor confidence and significant business opportunity. So, what can you expect for the rest of year? Get all the data, insights, and predictions in our H1 2025 Finder Ecosystem Report: 👉 https://okt.to/ABrjUp Yariv Lotan, Einat Ben Ari, Brad Hofman (MBA Finance), Dana Cogan, Chanel Itzhaki Ganor, Shelly Hod Moyal, iAngels, Jefferies #H12025Report #IsraeliTech #ImpatientInnovation

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We have been mapping the Israeli Generative AI landscape since ChatGPT came out more or less. In the latest version, published on Thursday, we've mapped 342 startups that collective raised over $20 billion. More than half of the new companies we've added this year possess agentic AI capabilities. Can Israeli startups compete globally in Generative AI? Absolutely. 🇮🇱 Israel is emerging as a global GenAI hub, with the highest AI talent concentration (Stanford 2024) and a culture of deep tech innovation. 📈 The number of GenAI startups has nearly doubled in a year 🔐 The categories that saw the most growth this year were cyber and healthcare, followed by LLM ops and marketing tools 💡 Global VCs (like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and Insight Partners) are doubling down on elite Israeli talent, while global R&D centres including NVIDIA are planning multi billion expansion plans in Israel. ⚙️ Despite global headwinds, the Israeli startup ecosystem is proving resilient, resourceful, and opportunity-driven—especially in tackling GenAI’s toughest challenges: privacy, cost, trust, and explainability. At Remagine Ventures we've made over 13 investments in GenAI startups at pre-seed are bullish on big wins ahead. Link to the landscape evolution in the first comment below 👇

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I still see people whiff this part of the budget all the time... (please tell me you won't miss it this year 🤞). My favorite part about the budgeting process: It's late October 🎃... Revenue and EBITDA look good, you're about to hit submit, and then from the shadows someone yells, "𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙭?" Everyone looks around and then the "ohhh whoops" feeling sets in. We forgot capex. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. Why? It's not part of the P&L so it often gets overlooked until the end. The truth is -- Capital Expenditures or "𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘅" 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁. It just happens to hit the Balance Sheet instead of the P&L. There's good news, however -- it's actually a fairly easy process. But first, what is "capex"? Capex is cash we 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 (to acquire an asset) that benefits us 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. We depreciate the 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 in the future to satisfy the "Matching Principle." Why depreciate? If I buy a delivery truck, that truck will help me generate Revenue over the next ~8 years or so (by making deliveries). So, I need to "match" its cost against the Revenue it helps me generate. With that in mind, here's how we can build it: Look at the image below... I've got two identical sections that do slightly different things. The first is the "capex" section, and this is where I list the project and its cost. So for the first entry, I'm saying, "I'd like to buy a $75,000 truck in Feb. of 2027 and I think it will last me 8 years (the "useful life")." And you can see over to the right the 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 -- $75,000 goes out in Feb. of 2027. Now, the second section: You can see that same new truck is listed at the top, but over to the right it's different... In Feb. 2027 you see $781 that continues monthly. That is the 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 = $75,000 / 8 years / 12 months = $781 per month. Effectively, the depreciation makes an accounting adjustment to my cash cost so that the expense of the asset 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 the Revenue it helps create. From there, it's a link-up to my Three Statement Model: ✓ (1) Capex links to the Fixed Asset account like this: Prior Period balance 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘴 the new Capex (if done correctly, I should see the $75,000 in the Cash Flow Statement) ✓ (2) Depreciation links to my Income Statement, and; ✓ (3) it gets captured on my Balance Sheet in Accumulated Depreciation: Prior Period balance 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘴 the new Depreciation (if done correctly, this will zero out any "cash impact" of Depreciation in my Cash Flow Statement) The net impact of it all? Cash out the door today, but with the correct accounting treatment depreciating the cost in the future 👍 Hope this helps 🙂. 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀... 📥 Download 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘅 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 👉 https://lnkd.in/e75jhi3d 🧠 Take a modeling 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘇 👉 https://lnkd.in/eccYpT-R 🎓 Master 𝟯 𝗦𝘁𝗺𝘁𝘀 & 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 👉 https://bit.ly/FMECourses

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The 5 biggest mistakes Israeli founders make when scaling to the U.S. (and what to do instead): At a recent Google for Startups event, Yasmin Lukatz, Founder of ICON - Israel Collaboration Network, shared some truly golden lessons from working with Israeli entrepreneurs entering the U.S. market. Here are the 5 most common mistakes to avoid, according to Yasmin: 1. Building for the wrong market Too many founders validate only in Israel, then discover too late that their product does not fit U.S. customers. The fix: Before writing a single line of code, speak with 10-20 U.S. customers to validate the problem and solution. 2. Misreading cultural signals American politeness often hides rejection. ↳ “It’s interesting” usually means “I’m not interested.” ↳ “Let’s do lunch” without a calendar invite will not happen. The best way to reach an investor is through another founder they already back, using a concise “forwardable email.” 3. Overemphasizing the idea, underemphasizing the team Investors care more about resilience and adaptability than the initial idea. The fix: Highlight your team’s strength, your ability to pivot, and your long-term mindset. 4. Underestimating the GenAI paradox AI lowers the cost of building and speeds up time to market, but that pace creates more pressure on teams. The fix: Focus on mental toughness, resilience, and team balance. Technology can speed the race, but people carry it. 5. Neglecting community Founders often underestimate the power of networks built on trust and reciprocity. The fix: Don’t just network for yourself. Contribute to others. Over time, a culture of giving becomes your most valuable asset. The truth is, startups rarely fail because of technology. They fail because founders misread markets, culture, or people. Avoiding these five mistakes can make all the difference. Which of these do you see most often among founders expanding abroad?

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